Gesundheit
by alate
Summary: Steph gets a cold, but denial's still her best friend, until Ranger intervenes.


_They're not mine, and I'm not making any money… In honor of cold and flu season, this is a little something that popped into my head as I blew my nose for the 5,.000th time today. Anyway, hope you enjoy!_

**Gesundheit**

Once again, I found myself in the land of denial. And for once it wasn't because of some crazy stalker. No, what had me in denial this time was an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, microscopic _virus_.

Today had started out pretty normal. I'd gotten up, headed to the office and then Lula and I had run around Trenton chasing small time criminals all day. I'd come home, showered and crawled into bed for a nap only to wake up freezing with a splitting headache.

Dissatisfied with my nap, I'd crawled out of bed, pulled on some heavy sweats and turned up my thermostat a few degrees. Then, hauling the blankets from my bed, I'd curled up on my couch to watch Ghostbusters. That had been two hours ago. Now, I was watching the end of the movie, irritated because my eyes were watering and making he screen blurry, as I sneezed and continued with my denial.

Turning off the movie and flicking mindlessly though the channels, I dug through my mind for some explanation for how I was feeling other than I was sick. I really hated being sick, and there was no way my mother wouldn't hear about it, then she'd be here hovering and taking care of me.

Casting that from my mind for now, I remembered old, Mrs. White who Lula and I had taken in this morning. She was a sweet old lady, she just didn't understand why the state of New Jersey no longer wanted her driving. Anyway, she'd agreed to come peacefully, only after she'd introduced Lula and me to all five of her cats. Probably I was having an allergic reaction to the cats… not that I'd ever had one before in all my 32 years, but there's a first time for everything.

I was in the middle of yet another sneezing fit, trying not to disturb the blankets and let cold air under them, when I heard the locks on my door begin to click.

I momentarily debated moving and retrieving my gun from my purse, but I just didn't have the energy or the desire to leave my slightly warm nest. I didn't have a stalker right now and most of the people I knew broke in. Most likely it was Ranger or Joe, since they were the ones that broke in most frequently, even though neither had lately.

Joe and I had finally grown up and had a long, long talk. Apparently, my admitting I loved him was the catalyst for this talk. We talked about how we loved one another and what we each wanted from the other and life. Then Joe and I had just held one another, and I'd let a few tears fall, when we realized there was no way to make those wants line up. So we were friends, and that was going great. We still did the pizza, beer and hockey thing, but there was no game tonight.

Probably that meant it was Ranger. And I had sort of, maybe been avoiding him lately. When I realized I loved Joe, I also realized I loved Ranger. He'd told me more than once that he loved me, but he'd also said his love doesn't come with a ring and he isn't big on relationships. He was open for friendship with sex, but I couldn't do that. The problem was, the chemistry between Ranger and I is phenomenal and I'm a slave to my hormones. On top of that, Ranger was no help, saying he'd make a move with partial consent. So, with no more Morelli guilt, I was avoiding him.

"Babe?" I heard, interrupting my musings.

I was still debating whether to waste perfectly good energy answering him or waiting for him to just come into the room, when his boots entered my line of sight.

"Babe, are you alright?" Ranger asked, crouching down in front of me. "It's roasting in here."

"Nuh uh," I argued, snuggling my blankets more firmly around me.

"Yes it is, and you're pale as a sheet," he said, before reaching a hand to my forehead. "And you're burning up."

"Nuh uh," I argued again. "Fevers don't come with allergies."

"Babe, you're sick."

"Alergies."

"To what?"

"Cats," I said, before closing my eyes, figuring that the argument was over and he'd let me get to sleep.

"Since when are you allergic to cats?"

"Today," I stated, not opening my eyes.

"Uh huh," Ranger said, before I heard him walk away.

Not worrying about where he went, I relaxed back into the couch and was drifting off to sleep, when I felt something cold shoved between my lips.

"Leave it," Ranger said, as I opened my eyes and found him holding a thermometer in my mouth.

Rolling my eyes, I kept it under my tongue, figuring I wasn't going to win. I was only a few minutes anyway, before Ranger pulled it out of my mouth and read it. I have to admit, I was a bit curious when I saw slight shock register on his face.

"Babe, you're 102.5. You're sick, this isn't allergies and we need to start taking care of you."

"But I don't want to be sick," I whined, before what he said registered. "We?"

"Yeah, Babe. You think I'm gonna leave you here alone like this?"

"Just don't call my mother," I said, closing my eyes once again.

"Babe," Ranger said, sitting on the edge of the couch by my head and brushing my hair back. "Can you look at me for a minute?"

"Sure," I said, opening one eye.

"I'll make you a deal, okay? I won't call your mother if you'll come back to the apartment with me and let Ella and I take care of you."

"I can take care of myself," I stubbornly argued. I'm not sure why though; Ranger's apartment sounded wonderful right now, with his amazing sheets and it was probably warm there…

"I know you can, Babe," Ranger interrupted my thoughts, "but you don't have to."

"Mkay," I gave in.

"Thanks, Babe," Ranger said, brushing my hair back again before standing.

"I need to pack some stuff," I said, trying to sit up and hold onto my blankets at the same time.

"You just rest, and I'll get you packed."

"Mkay," I said again, settling back into the couch and letting my eyes drift shut again.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up to someone lifting me. Judging by the tingly feeling I was experiencing, I'd say it was Ranger. Just to be safe, I opened my eyes to find that we were already in the Rangeman parking garage and Ranger was lifting me from the Porsche.

"I can walk," I mumbled, as Ranger headed for the elevator.

"Yeah," Ranger agreed, but didn't put me down.

And I didn't protest again, because honestly, I felt like shit. I was still freezing and Ranger was so warm and the muscles all through my back and legs were aching. Also, if Ranger was carrying me, I could hide my eyes against his chest from the awful glare of the lights in the elevator… I don't remember them being so bright.

In the apartment, Ranger immediately settled me on the couch, before covering me with a down comforter. Smiling my appreciation, I snuggled into it and quickly dropped back to sleep.

I awoke some time later to soft, consistent tapping noises and opened my eyes to find Ranger sitting on the chair closet to my head, working on his laptop. Smiling, I watched him for a minute until he noticed I was awake.

"Hey, Babe. How are you felling?"

"Not so hot," I admitted, shocked to hear how croaky my voice sounded.

Before he could respond, I let out a sting of three consecutive sneezes, and then groaned at the bolts of pain they sent through my head and neck.

"Why don't you go get a shower and I'll call Ella for some dinner then you can take some medicine and get back to sleep," Ranger suggested.

"That sounds good," I admitted, struggling to sit up until Ranger helped me.

Shuffling to the bathroom, I couldn't believe how quickly I'd gone from feeling fine to feeling like this. There were no words for this. All I wanted was to go back to sleep and wait for it to go away, but I knew I should take some medicine first and probably a shower and food wouldn't hurt.

It wasn't until I was in the shower, zoning out as the cool water washed over my suddenly warm body that I noticed my nose had stuffed up during my nap. I hadn't noticed due to the over all discomfort of this disease I had, but I was seriously depressed when I realized I couldn't smell the Bulgari bubbles that I was washing with.

Out of the shower, I dug through my bag until I found a pair of pajama bottoms, and then pulled on one of Ranger's t-shirts. The common cold wouldn't dare infect Batman, so maybe his shirt would trick it…

Back in the kitchen, I slumped on a stool and flopped my body forward onto the bar.

"You feeling any better, Babe?" Ranger asked, as he came up behind me and ran a hand over my head.

"Ungh," was my noncommittal answer.

"You feel a little warmer. I'm gonna go get the thermometer."

"Mmm," was all I said, as he disappeared towards the bathroom.

Moments later, I heard him reappear, but didn't open my eyes. Instead, I opened my mouth, only to be surprised when I felt him stick something in my ear. Curious, I opened my eyes just in time to see him looking at the readout of one of those ear-thermometers. That was so much nicer than having to hold it under my tongue and try to breath through a stuffed nose, I thought.

"103, Babe," Ranger said, looking concerned now.

"Okay," I said. I really just wanted to go back to sleep.

"If it gets higher I'm taking you to the emergency room."

"No hospitals," I argued. "Other mothers don't have daughters who go to the ER."

"Babe," Ranger said, shaking his head, only to be distracted by a knock on the door.

A second later, Ella was in the kitchen and removing bowls, which I assumed smelled wonderful, from her tray. It almost made me wish I was hungry.

"I made soup, Dear," she said, setting a bowl in front of me. "I want you to try and eat some of it."

"Mkay," I said, peeling myself off the bar top and lifting my spoon.

I took a couple of bites, but then couldn't eat any more. Lifting my eyes to Ella, she gently took my spoon and handed me a glass of water and two pills.

"Take those. They should reduce the fever and body aches and help with congestion. You'll need to take them every four hours," this was said as much to Ranger as to me, because I honestly wasn't paying attention as I downed the pills.

Once she was satisfied, Ella tidied up the kitchen, leaving the soup in the fridge then let herself out.

"You ready for bed, Babe?" Ranger asked.

"Uh huh," I nodded, getting off of my stool and heading for the couch.

"Where are you going?" he asked, wrapping an arm around my waist and redirecting me towards his bedroom. "I'll take the couch, you need your rest."

"Thanks," I said, as I let him tuck me into his bed.

I quickly snuggled into the wonderfully soft sheets, but I couldn't get back to sleep. I was once again freezing and I just lay there shivering. It wasn't long before I gave up trying to get warm and pulled myself out of bed.

Keeping the duvet cover wrapped around me, I wandered into the living room where I found Ranger sitting working on his laptop again. I felt bad interrupting him, but I really was freezing.

"Babe?" he asked, looking up.

"I'mmm coolld-d," I said, shivering.

"Do you want more blankets?" Ranger asked, looking unsure if he should cover my over-heated body up more.

"Can you just come stay with me?" I asked.

"Sure, Babe," he said smiling. "You know, if I didn't know how miserable you were, I'd take that as consent."

"Too bad I'm miserable," I mumbled heading back to bed.

Moments later, Ranger followed me, only to disappear into the bathroom. I heard the toilet flush, and then he reemerged in only his black silk boxers. Even sick, my hormones made an admirable attempt at coming to attention, but my heart just wasn't in it. I just wanted to sleep.

In no time at all, I was well on my way to getting my wish as Ranger slid into bed behind me and drew me to himself.

"Mmmm, much better," I murmured ad I relaxed back into his chest.

The next time I woke, I was plastered on top of Ranger and we were both slicked with sweat. As wonderful as that could be, I had a feeling it was all from me, so I tired to move. Every muscle in my body protested, however, and in the process I managed to wake Ranger.

"Babe?" he asked, bringing his arms around me.

"Sorry," I tried to say, but no sound came out, I only became aware of how sore my throat was.

"It feels like your fever broke," Ranger said, smiling a little as he brought a hand to my head.

I just nodded against him.

"Why don't we get you in the shower," he suggested.

I simply nodded again.

Recognizing that I wasn't going to move, Ranger sat up and lifted me into his arms. Then, he headed for the bathroom. He was halfway through undressing me before I even realized what was going on, but I couldn't summon the energy to care. I really knew I was sick when he proceeded to undress himself and join me in the shower. I was only glad to be able to lean against him as he washed my body and sweat soaked hair.

Once we were done in the shower, Ranger helped me into fresh pajama bottoms, and I mustered some amusement when he gave me another of his shirts to wear. Then I headed back for the bed when Ranger took hold of my waist.

"Why don't you try eating some breakfast first? Then you can take some medicine and go back to bed."

Knowing my voice wouldn't work, I nodded.

Following Ranger into the kitchen, I watched as he got things around to make fruit smoothies. Just in time, I reacted to cover my ears from the loud noise the blender made as he ran it. Despite excessive amounts of sleep, my headache still hadn't gone away.

When Ranger finally handed me my smoothie, I crinkled my nose, remembering last time he had convinced me to drink one.

"Just drink it, Babe," he said. "It'll make you feel better."

Taking a sip, cautiously, I was amazed to find that I couldn't really taste it due to my cold. And the coolness of the drink felt wonderful on my enflamed throat.

"Thank you," I managed to croak once I had finished.

"Welcome, Babe," Ranger said, now offering me some of the pills I had taken last night and a glass of water.

Taking them gratefully, I swallowed the pills and downed the water, knowing fluids would help me get better soon.

After that, Ranger helped me back to bed and I quickly dropped back to sleep for a few more hours. When I woke up, I was incredibly thirsty so I climbed from bed, keeping a blanket wrapped around me, and headed for the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I was getting my water, when I found a note from Ranger saying he had to respond to a break in at one of his accounts, but would be home later and I should make myself comfortable. He also assured me that Ella would be checking in on me and I could call her if I needed anything.

Thinking of Ella, I remembered the soup she had brought yesterday. I really should eat something, I though, so I investigated the fridge until I found it. While heating it in the microwave, I zoned out and nearly jumped out of my skin when the microwave beeped. Shaking my head, I took my soup and water into the living room and settled on the couch.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face when I saw Ghostbusters and the Indiana Jones box set sitting of the coffee table. Since I had watched Ghostbusters yesterday, I pulled the first Indiana Jones movie from the box and stuck it in the DVD player.

Once I had eaten my soup, I lay down and didn't really pay much attention to the movie. I just kind of drifted in and out until I saw the credits rolling. Then, when I was changing the DVD and putting the second of the set in, I had a thought that had me feeling really guilty. Pulling out my phone, I immediately speed dialed Ranger.

"Yo," he answered.

"Yo, yourself," I said, or tried to anyhow.

"Babe?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I tried for, but again no sound came out.

Giving up, I ended the call, figuring he'd understand and texted him. I started with an apology and 'my voice won't work' before getting to my concern. I'd forgotten Rex!

He quickly messaged me back, saying he'd had Hal taking care of Rex, but could pick him up on his way home tonight.

I replied that that would be wonderful.

Quick assurances that I was taking care of myself, and Ranger got back to work and I got back to Indiana Jones.

Somewhere during the third movie, Ella entered the apartment and fed me more soup and tidied around me. I felt kind of bad, lying on the couch while she worked, but I honestly didn't have the energy to even pretend to help. So, I did as she said and relaxed and I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up I was once again alone in the apartment.

Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was six, and I realized I had done nothing all day but sleep and zone out in front of the TV. I really wanted to get up and do something, but I didn't know what. No matter, I was trying to haul myself off the couch when the apartment door swung open.

"Hey, Babe," said Ranger, entering the apartment. He was carrying Rex and something on top of Rex's cage.

"Hey," I tried to reply, but my voice still wasn't working.

"Feeling any better?" he asked from the kitchen.

I was still trying to think of a way to respond when he entered the living room carrying two plates. Now that he was close, we could do sign language and he could hear my whisper. So, I held my finger and thumb and inch apart and whispered "A little."

"That's good," he said as he sat beside me on the couch and handed me a plate.

I immediately felt my face light up when I saw he had brought Pino's. I hadn't smelt it due to the fact that I couldn't smell anything.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"You're welcome. I figured this would make you feel better and make up for you having to drink the smoothie this morning.

Once we were done eating, Ranger sat our plates on the coffee table and wrapped an arm around me as I nestled in. It wasn't long before I had completely zoned out.

"When do you need more medicine?" Ranger asked, breaking my zone… And I'd finally found it!

"Umm," I replied. I couldn't really remember what time I had taken it last. I just knew it was over due since it had been with breakfast.

"Babe," was all Ranger said as he got up and returned with my pills and water.

Once I had taken them, he helped me up, into the bedroom and into a fresh t-shirt before settling me in bed. I was amazed at how quickly I fell asleep, considering how much I'd slept during the day.

The next time I woke, there was sun streaming in the window and cautious movements revealed that I was no longer sore. I was just beyond congested and my throat still hurt.

Since I felt a bit grimy, I headed for the bathroom when I climbed out of bed. I brushed away the ultra bad morning breath that came with being sick and climbed into a nice warm shower. As I stood in the steam, I could feel my sinuses clearing and was very excited when I caught a whiff of Bulgari.

Clean and semi-refreshed, I headed for the kitchen in search of breakfast. I more knew I should eat than felt hungry. I also wanted to get some more medicine in my system to relieve the awful pressure in my head.

"Hey, Babe," I heard from behind me as I was staring aimlessly into the fridge for something to eat.

"Hey," I said, glad to hear my voice was back, even if it did sound nasally and sick.

"I called Ella when I heard the shower running, she's brining up waffles in a few minutes."

"Sounds great," I said, taking the remaining step between ranger and I and leaning against him.

We just stayed like that, with Ranger's arms holding me up and my eyes closed for quite a while. I think I may have been drifting to sleep standing up when we heard a knock at the door signaling Ella.

As she entered the apartment, Ranger steered me to the bar and seated me. Then Ella was serving me breakfast and I actually felt a little hungry, which I took as a good sign.

"How are you feeling today, Dear?" she asked, once she had breakfast all laid out.

"A bit better," I said. "Just exhausted and still stuffed up."

"Well, a day or so more of rest and you'll be as good as new," she said, patting my arm, before taking her tray and leaving us to breakfast.

I actually managed to eat both of my strawberry covered waffles before getting full, so I figured I must be getting better. It wasn't until I was taking the last bite that I began to feel a bit curious, Ranger had eaten with me, and it was pretty late in the day. Looking up, I found him watching me and he offered me more medicine. Once I had taken it, I posed my question.

"Not that I'm complaining, but don't you have better things to do than hang out here?"

"Nope, I'm taking care of you. Yesterday there was an emergency. The guys all know not to call unless there's another."

"Oh," was all I could say to that. I wasn't sure how to respond and my brain still wasn't stringing thoughts together very well, so I decided not to think about it.

"Don't worry about it, Babe. The guys all want you to feel better. In fact, since my apartment is apparently boring beyond all belief, they sent you some movies to watch. They're in the living room."

"That was nice of them," I said smiling. I may have been feeling better, but I still wasn't up for anything besides sitting and watching movies.

Standing, I headed for the living room only to be surprised when Ranger followed me. Shrugging it off, I watched from the corner of my eye as he picked up his laptop and settled on one end of the couch to work. I dug through the larges pile of action/adventure movies I had ever seen. Eventually, I selected The Mummy, put it in the DVD player and snuggled into the other end of the couch.

As I watched the movie, I also watched Ranger. He worked silently, seeming to be in a zone, only coming out of it to occasionally glance at the screen or at me.

"Is this why your life doesn't lend itself to relationships?" I finally asked once the movie was over. As it had played, I'd been thinking about some of the things he'd said and I thought I finally had some of it figured out. 

"No. Why would you say that?"

"Oh," so much for that theory. "I just figured you wouldn't want the interruption in your life. If you had a relationship, that person would always be around. You would have to take time out for them like you are for me right now."

"Babe, I don't mind taking time off for you. That's never been the problem."

"I don't understand, then," I said, sounding a bit pathetic. I guess it took being completely off my guard and spaced out from a cold to finally admit that to him.

"Babe," Ranger replied, setting his laptop away and pulling me to himself, "think of Scrog, think of Mitchell and Habib… bad people are always going to try to use my loved ones to get to me. I don't want something to happen to you."

I was so tired; I couldn't really formulate a response to that. My head was hurting again with trying to fathom Ranger's twisted logic. Couldn't he understand that bad things happened to me no matter what? I let my mind toy with the idea of us having a relationship for a moment and decided I like it. He actually accepts me and my decisions and I'm one of the few people that accept him. Damn stubborn man.

I felt a hand stroking my hair, so I opened my eyes. Lifting them, I found Ranger watching me with an affectionate, amused look on his face.

"Huh?" I asked, not capable of forming a sentence.

"You fell asleep," Ranger explained.

"Stupid cold," I muttered.

"Yeah, but you're beating it," he said, dropping a kiss on top of my head.

The kiss reminded me of the conversation we were having when I fell asleep.

"I don't care about that stuff," I said, picking it back up right where we left off.

"Babe?" Ranger asked, obviously not back on that wavelength yet.

"Scrog, Mitchell, Habib… Crazies happen to be a part of my life. I tried to stop them by stopping bounty hunting, it didn't work. I tried having a 'normal' relationship, that didn't work."

"Babe," Ranger said, sounding pained now. I wonder what that's about.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

With that, I pulled myself off of him and headed for the bedroom. Burrowing into his wonderful sheets, I considered letting myself have a pity party, but I didn't want to cry. That would just make my head hurt more and my nose run worse. God knows it couldn't get any rawer.

When I woke up again, I felt Ranger pressed up behind me. Curious, I rolled to face him and found him watching me intently. Giving my brain a minute to clear, I remembered the conversation we had had before I'd headed for bed and wasn't sure if I should be mad or upset with him or something. Deciding I didn't have the energy for either, I just met his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Babe. You did nothing wrong. I just have these feelings for you, and I have no idea what to do with them. I just know I could never stand to see you hurt because of me."

"It'd be worth it," I said, annoyed that this moment was marred by my voice being croaky once again.

"God, Babe, I have no idea what to do with you."

"Then why don't you try all the options until you find one that works. You already tried pushing me away, and I don't like that one. We could try the opposite," I suggested.

"Yeah, we could," he said, looking in my eyes.

Then, he started to lower his mouth to mine and I quickly turned my head away from him. At his confused look, I spoke.

"I'm sick. You really think it's the best idea for us to be swapping spit?"

"Babe," he said, before pulling me closer and leaning in to kiss me again.

This time I didn't fight it. How could I? I was pretty sure that Batman just agreed to try a relationship with me, but I couldn't be sure. My mind was still a bit fogged with this cold and who knows, this could be a dream… It wouldn't be the first time.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It hadn't been a dream, it had been wonderful reality. Finally, Ranger and I were working on dealing with the feelings that were between us. And so far, it had been wonderful. Granted, it's only been two days, and for those two days, I've still been recovering from this cold, but you gotta look on the bright side.

Ranger had stayed with me while I recovered and we had spent a lot of time talking and cuddling on the couch watching movies. I'd learned quite a bit more about him and we'd talked up front about what we wanted from this relationship. Ranger had been nervous when he had told me that he still wasn't sure if his love came with a ring, but I wasn't really sure if mine did either. That had been one of the big problems with Joe and I. He'd always wanted to get married and I wasn't anywhere near ready.

Now, I was gathering my stuff to go back to my apartment. I was fully recovered and there was no reason to stay. Ranger had tried to convince me to just move in, but I wanted to take things slow. No good had come of my moving in with Joe so quickly and it had just caused problems when I'd moved out. No, when and if Ranger and I took that step, I wanted to be ready.

I was just shoving the last pair of sweats in my bag and looking sadly around the apartment for anything I forgot, when I heard the door open and close. Ranger had had to go check on something in the control room, but was coming back up so we could have supper before he took me home.

"Babe," he called, then I heard something that made me cringe.

I heard loud sneezes one after another. Uh oh.

Wandering out of the bedroom, I found Ranger standing in the kitchen wiping his nose. Almost hesitantly, I lifted a hand to his head. He was warm.

"Ranger, I think you have my cold," I said, softly. I wasn't sure if getting him sick was worth a trip to a third world country.

"I'm fine," he said.

"Ranger," I warned. He hadn't let me deny it, and I wasn't going to let him. Looks like I'm staying a few more days yet…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought! This is just something that fell out of my brain as I was bed-bound with my own cold this weekend. Sadly, I didn't have a Ranger to take care me…


End file.
